Izanagi and Izanami

In the beginning, there was nothing but a shapeless egg of swirling gases. Slowly, the lighter areas rose
up to form the heavens, and the darker, denser material sank to form the earth. Three gods; - The Spirit
Master of the Center of Heaven - The August Wondrously Producing Spirit - The Divine Wondrously
Producing Ancestor created themselves, and hid in heaven. The earth was young then, and land floated
like oil, and from it reed shoots sprouted. From these reeds came two more deities. After them, five or
six pairs of deities came into being, and the last of these were Izanagi and Izanami, whose names mean
"The Male Who Invites" and "The Female who Invites". The Birth of Japan

Izanagi and Izanami

Izanagi and Izanami were commanded by the heavenly deities "to complete and solidify the drifting
land" - in other words to form the Japanese islands. Standing on the "Floating Bridge of The Birth of
Japan Heaven," they wondered whether there was anything below them, and so dipped the heavenly
Jeweled Spear into the sea below to find out.

The Birth of Japan They stirred the brine with a churning sound, and when they lifted up the spear again,
the dripping brine from the tip of the spear piled up and became the island of Onogoro. Descending
from the heavens, Izanagi and Izanami decided to make their home there, and stuck the spear into the
ground to form the Heavenly Pillar.

The Creation of the Land

The Creation of the Land Discovering that their bodies were differently formed, Izanagi asked his spouse
Izanami if she was agreeable to giving birth to the land in order to produce more islands. When she
agreed, they devised a marriage ritual: they walked around the Heavenly Pillar in opposite directions;
when they met, Izanami said “What a fine young man!” Izanagi said, “What a fine young woman!” and
then they made love. Instead of producing an island, however, she gave birth to a deformed leech-child,
Ebisu,which they cast a drift on the sea in a basket. They then gave birth to a child, which they did not
recognize as a child.
Ebisu First child, later became the god of fishermen and luck. Disappointed in their failures in
procreation, they returned to heaven to consult the gods who told them that their mistake lay in the
marriage ritual: Izanami should not have spoken first when they met around the pillar, as it is not a
woman's place to initiate a conversation. In order to have children, they repeated the ritual, but this
time, Izanagi spoke first.

On their return to earth, Izanagi and Izanami tried again and were successful. Over time, Izanami bore all
the islands of Japan. They produced gods to beautify the islands, and also made gods of wind, trees,
rivers, and mountains, completing the creation of Japan.

The last god produced by Izanami was the fire god, whose birth scorched her genitals so badly that she
died. However, as she died, she continued to produce more gods from her vomit, urine, and feces.
Izanagi mourned over his wife’s death and the tears produced another god. He was so angry that he cut
off the fire god's head, but drops of his blood fell on the earth, producing still more deities.

Kagutsuchi God of Fire

The Creation of the Land Longing for his wife, Izanagi went to the Land of Yomi, which led him to the
underworld. Finding her in the darkness, he called to her and asked her to come back to the land of the
living with him.

Izanami replied that it was already too late, and that she had consumed the food of Yomi. However, she
promised she would go once she asked the gods of the underworld to give her permission to leave, but
she asked Izanagi to not look at her while she did this. After a while, Izanagi grew impatient and decided
to look for her. He broke the end of his comb and set it afire for a light.

When he saw her, he was shocked to find his once beautiful wife to be a rotten corpse being eaten by
maggots. Ashamed to be seen in this condition, Izanami chased Izanagi out of the underworld. First, she
sent the demon thunder deities that were born from her body to chase after him, and then she pursued
him herself.

Raijin God of Thunder Fujin God of Wind

At last he grasped a huge rock and used it to close the passage to the underworld. Enraged, she shouted
to him, “if you behave this way, I would strangle and kill 1,000 men from your land.” He then replied
with, “then if you do this, I would cause 1,500 men to be born.” Izanagi returned to his home and bathed
to purify himself from all the uncleanliness. As he removed his clothing, new gods arose from his robe,
accessories, and more arose from the water as he cleansed himself of the impurities of Yomi. Misogi A
ritual purification by washing the entire body by the river.

In the last step of the purification ceremony, Izanagi washed his left eye, from which Amaterasu-Omikami
was born; from his right eye, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto; and from his nose, Susanoo-no-Mikoto was born.
The three gods were called the “Three Pre